Sports

Contador unsure about 2013 Tour invite for team

by APposted Nov 29 2012 5:15PM

MADRID (AP) - Spanish rider Alberto Contador has asked Tour de France organizers if his SaxoBank team will be invited to participate in cycling's premier event next year.

The two-time Tour champion said Thursday that "this is not a means of pressuring," but "we are waiting to see if we will be a World Tour team or not. If not, we'll need an invitation for the grand tours."

Contador was stripped of a Tour title, the 2010 edition, for testing positive for clenbuterol. He missed last year's race while serving a ban.

Contador says he needs at least two months to prepare for the Tour and is considering racing in only one grand tour next year.

He declined to comment on Lance Armstrong's doping case "until a certain time has passed."